For large current, switching devices such as MOSFET and IGBT, often have to be connected in parallel. Due to this reason, derating and preselection of the switching devices become necessary to develop high-power converters. The current imbalance can be produced by stray inductances, device characteristic difference or asymmetric circuit. Moreover, thermal imbalance is anther important reason for current balancing. The static and transient characteristics of an IGBT vary sensitively with its junction temperature. This paper focuses on the current sharing of IGBTs in parallel with thermal imbalance. In this paper, an active gate control method which can achieve current balancing of the IGBTs in parallel with thermal imbalance, is explained and verified by experiments. This method can be applied to an actual 160kW/380V power electronics converter prototype for improving the utilization of the switching devices and enhancing system reliability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.